Getting Families Involved

Standards

The content of this tutorial aligns with Massachusetts standards and guidelines.

Massachusetts Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)

Center and School Based:

• Family and Community Engagement Level 3 A daily two way communication system is available between the educators and families through a variety of means; Families are encouraged to volunteer in the program, to assist in the classroom, and share cultural and language traditions or other interests such as their jobs, hobbies and other relevant information.

Family Child Care:

• Family and Community Engagement Level 2 Educator establishes ongoing communication with other family child care providers in the community or community agencies to exchange information and resources.
• Family and Community Engagement Level 3 A daily two way communication system is available between the educators and families through a variety of means (e.g. scheduled telephone hour, checklists, e-mail).
• Family and Community Engagement Level 4 Families are encouraged to volunteer to assist in the program and, with appropriate supervision, share cultural and language traditions or other interests such as their jobs, hobbies and other relevant information.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

Guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practice:

• (2) Teaching to enhance development and learning B Teachers make it a priority to know each child well, and also the people most significant in the child’s life.
• (2) Teaching to enhance development and learning B.1 Teachers establish positive, personal relationships with each child and with each child’s family to better understand that child’s individual needs, interests, and abilities and that family’s goals, values, expectations, and childrearing practices. Teachers talk with each child and family (with a community translator, if necessary, for mutual understanding) and use what they learn to adapt their actions and planning.
• (5) Establishing reciprocal relationships with families A In reciprocal relationships between practitioners and families, there is mutual respect, cooperation, shared responsibility, and negotiation of conflicts toward achievement of shared goals.
• (5) Establishing reciprocal relationships with families B Practitioners work in collaborative partnerships with families, establishing and maintaining regular, frequent two-way communication with them (with families who do not speak English, teachers should use the language of the home if they are able or try to enlist the help of bilingual volunteers).
• (5) Establishing reciprocal relationships with families C Family members are welcome in the set- ting, and there are multiple opportunities for family participation. Families participate in program decisions about their children’s care and education.
• (5) Establishing reciprocal relationships with families D Teachers acknowledge a family’s choices and goals for the child and respond with sensitivity and respect to those preferences and concerns, but without abdicating the responsibility that early childhood practitioners have to support children’s learning and development through developmentally appropriate practices.
• (5) Establishing reciprocal relationships with families E Teachers and the family share with each other their knowledge of the particular child and understanding of child development and learning as part of day-to-day communication and in planned conferences. Teachers support families in ways that maximally promote family decision-making capabilities and competence.
• (5) Establishing reciprocal relationships with families F Practitioners involve families as a source of information about the child (before program entry and on an ongoing basis) and engage them in the planning for their child.